Rotary impulse sprinkler



March 25, 1969 A. R. J. FRIEDMANN ETAL ROTARY IMPULSE SPRINKLER Filed Oct. 30, 1967 FIG-1 7O 74 7371 70 78 2O INVENTORS ANTON R.J.FRIEDMANN a RALPH H. EBY

A TTOR/VEYS United States Patent 3,434,664 ROTARY IMPULSE SPRHNKLER Anton R. J. Friedmann and Ralph H. Ehy, Troy, Ohio, assignors to Ashley F. Ward, Inc., doing business as The Skinner Irrigation Company, Troy, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Oct. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 679,106) Int. Cl. 3051b 3/02 U.S. Cl. 239--206 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention The field of this invention involves sprinklers of the pop-up" type, which commonly employ a housing disposed with its top approximately at ground level and a sprinkler head mounted in this housing for upward movement to its operating position when the water pressure is applied thereto. Then after the water is shut off, the sprinkler retracts under the influence of gravity to its housed position.

The invention is particularly concerned with pop-up sprinklers of the rotary impulse type wherein the sprin- 'kler head includes a nozzle, and the driving impulses for rotating the sprinkler head are derived from an impact arm which is caused to oscillate through the combined actions of a torsion spring and a deflector which intermittently intercepts the stream of water from the nozzle. Additionally, the invention is specifically concerned with rotary impulse drive sprinklers of the adjustable part-circle type which can be preset to discharge water over a limited angular range and to oscillate through that range.

It has been common practice in the construction of impulse drive sprinklers to provide for optimum control of the distribution pattern of the water by the use of dual nozzles, a main nozzle and a driving nozzle, which are mounted in vertical spaced relation with substantial distance therebetween or on opposite sides of the sprinkler head. Each of these constructions has the advantage that the stream from the main nozzle is constant and can be set for distant coverage free of interruption by the driving deflector, while the driving nozzle can be made smaller for distributing water in the area closer to the sprinkler head. Both of these constructions, however, have limitations for use in pop-up sprinklers, the former because it produces interfering streams and requires too much vertical space for a housing of convenient and economical size, and the latter because the 180 spacing of the two nozzles makes it incapable of use as a part-circle sprinkler.

Summary of the invention The present invention is accordingly directed primarily to the provision of a part-circle impulse drive sprinkler of the pop-up type which is free of the above limitations of the prior art construction, which is of compact arrangement for use within an under-ground housing of conventional size, and more specifically which includes dual nozzles and a deflector on the impact :arm arranged in such relation on the sprinkler head that the stream from the driving nozzle does not interfere with and is not carried by the stream from the main nozzle either before or while the stream from the driving nozzle is being intercepted by the deflector, and thus the main stream is free to provide substantially uniform water distribution over a predetermined area furthermost from the sprinkler while the stream from the driving nozzle similarly distributes water over an area nearest to the nozzle.

These objectives of the invention as outlined in the preceding paragraph are accomplished by a novel design of sprinkler wherein two nozzles are so arranged on the same side of the sprinkler head in both laterally and vertically offset parallel relation that the overall dimensions of the sprinkler head are retained within compact limits compatible with a housing of conventional size for installation in the ground. Additionally, the sprinkler head incorporates an impact arm and deflector of such design and arrangement that whenever the deflector intercepts the stream from its driving nozzle, the intercepted stream is directed over the stream from the main nozzle, and an essentially uniform distribution pattern of water is achieved over the entire range of the sprinkler.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a sprinkler constructed in accordance with the invention and with a portion broken away to show internal construction;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 5 and with other portions broken away;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the sprinkler shown in FIG. 1 with the cover for the housing removed;

FIG. 5 is a view of the sprinkler head taken generally along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2 with the impact arm removed;

FIG. 6 is a section taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view taken line 77 of FIG. 1.

Description of the preferred embodiment FIG. 1 shows a sprinkler 1t} constructed in accordance with the invention and including a housing 12 adapted to be recessed within the ground G. The housing 12 includes an upper portion 13 defining an internal chamber having a stepped cylindrical configuration. The upper portion 13 extends from a cylindrical lower portion 14 having an annular boss 15 formed at the lower end and provided with internal threads 16 for connection to a suitable water supply line 17.

generally along the A peripheral flange 18 projects outwardly from an annular tapered seat 19 formed on the upper portion 13 of the housing and a resilient ring 20 surrounds the flange 18. A flat annular seat 21 is formed within the housing at the bottom of the upper portion and a drainage opening 22 is formed within the housing 12 adjacent the seat 21.

Mounted within the housing 12 is a sprinkler head 25 having a body 26 threadably connected to the upper portion of a tubular stem 27 which is rotatably supported within the upper bearing portion 28 of a sleeve 30. A peripheral flange 32 is formed on the *bottom end of the stem 27 and cooperates with an internal shoulder 33 formed within the sleeve to confine a ring seal 34. A compression coil spring 35 surrounds the upper portion of the stem 27 and is spaced between the upper end of the sleeve 30 and the bottom surface of the body 26 for exerting a compressive force on the seal 34.

A pair of circumferential grooves 36 are formed on the upper end portion 28 of the sleeve 30 and retain a corresponding pair of circumferential adjustable wire-formed stops 40 (FIG. 4) each having a pair of outwardly projecting fingers 41. The lower end portion of the sleeve 30 is provided with external threads 42 for receiving a stop washer 43 which supports a resilient seal washer 44.

The sleeve 30 is supported for vertical sliding movement within a tubular bearing member 45 having a peripheral flange 46 mounted on the annular seat 21 within the housing and secured thereto by a series of screws 47. An annular resilient band seal 48 is secured to the upper portion of the support member 45 by a wire retainer 49 and engages the outer cylindrical surface of the sleeve 30 to prevent foreign particles from lodging between the outer cylindrical surface of the sleeve 30 and the inner bearing surface of the bearing member.

A compression spring 50 surrounds the sleeve 30 and extends between locating shoulders 51 formed on the under side of the support member 45 and the upper surface of the stop Washer 43. A pin 52 projects outwardly from the washer 43 and is received within a vertically extending slot 53 formed within the lower portion 14 of the housing 12 to prevent rotation of the sleeve 30 relative to the housing 12 while providing for vertical movement of the sleeve.

The body 26 of the sprinkler head 25 includes a portion 55 (FIG. 2) which is inclined upwardly and outwardly relative to the vertical rotational axis 56 of the head 25 and supporting stem 27. A primary nozzle 58 (FIG. 2) and secondary nozzle 60 are threadably connected to the body portion 54 with the secondary nozzle positioned above (FIG. 5) but radially inwardly (FIG. 3) in relation to the primary nozzle 58. The nozzles 58 and 60 define corresponding discharge openings 61 and 62 to which water is supplied through interconnecting passageways 63 and 64 formed within the body 26 and connected to the water passageways defined by the tubular stem 27, sleeve 30 and supply conduit 17. The water is discharged from the nozzles 58 and 60 in parallel streams S and S (FIG. 3), and a stream straightener 65 is provided within the passageway 63 to assist in forming of the stream S In addition to being at a higher level than the primary nozzle 58, the secondary nozzle 60 is also oifset laterally relative to the centerline of the primary nozzle by a suflicient amount to assure that at least the major portion of the stream S can drop past the main stream S from nozzle 58 without being mixed and carried out with the main stream. This makes it possible for the secondary stream to fall on and water the ground area closely surrounding the sprinkler while the main stream waters an area more remote from the sprinkler. For example, in one sprinkler construction which produced satisfactory results, the discharge openings 61 and 62 of the corresponding nozzles 58 and 60 had diameters of inch and inch, respectively, while the offset distance (A in FIG. 5) between the nozzles was inch.

A vertical shaft 66 extends from the body 26 and has an axis aligned with the rotatable axis 56 of the supporting stem 27. The upper end portion of the shaft extends through a head portion 67 of the body 26 which is integrally connected by a pair of vertically extending posts 68 (FIGS. 1 and 4). The head portion 67 is provided with a peripheral shoulder 69 (FIG. 2) for receiving and locating a generally flat circular cover member 70 which is retained on the body by screws 71 extending through a cap 72 and threaded into the head portion 67 of the body. As shown in FIG. 1, the outer peripheral surface 73 of the cover member 70 is tapered to seat on the mating tapered surface 19 on the upper portion of the housing. A resilient disk-like cover 74 overlays the cover member 70 and has a peripheral tapered surface which engages the ring 20.

An impact arm 75 (FIG. 4) having a generally cylindrical hub portion 76 (FIG. 2) is rotatably mounted on the shaft 66. A weight portion 78 is formed on one end of the arm, and a laterally projecting curved finger 79 (FIG. 4) is attached to the weight portion. An integral deflector 80 is carried by the opposite end portion of the arm 75 and is normally positioned directly in front of the secondary nozzle 60 and directly adjacent the primary nozzle 58. The deflector 80 includes upper and lower walls 82 (FIG. 2) which are integrally connected by a vertically extending wedge-shaped inner wall 83 (FIG. 3) and a curved, generally cup-shaped forward end wall 84. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the nozzle 60 and deflector 80 are laterally offset from the centerline of the primary nozzle 58.

A torsion spring (FIG. 1) surrounds the hub portion 76 of the impact arm 75 and has a lower end portion which extends through holes 91 (FIG. 2) formed within the impact arm. The upper end portion of the spring 90 extends through holes 92 (FIG. 2) formed within the head portion 67 of the body 26. The spring 90 is preset to provide a clockwise torque (FIG. 4) on the impact arm causing the arm to seat normally against the forward post 68 at a point of impact 94 (FIG. 4).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, a pair of vertically spaced ears 96 project laterally as part of the body 26 and are privided with vertically aligned holes for receiving a pin 98 which is threaded into the upper ear 96. A lever 100 is rotatably supported by the pin 98 and includes a downwardly extending portion 102 on which is mounted a yoke spring 104 which moves from a downwardly extending position (FIG. 1) over center to a horizontal position (FIG. 2).

The pin 98 also rotatably supports a toggle member 105 (FIG. 7) which preferably is formed of sheet metal and includes parallel spaced legs 107 which extend on opposite sides of the lever 100. The toggle member 105 includes an upwardly projecting finger portion 108 and is connected to the lever 100 by another yoke spring 104 which pivotally mounted on an ear 109 projecting from the lever and extends through a slot formed within the finger portion 108.

In operation, when water under pressure is supplied through the line 17, the water produces an upward thrust on the sleeve 30 causing the sprinkler head 25 to pop up from the housing carrying with it the cover 70. The main stream S of water is discharged through the primary nozzle 58, and a smaller parallel water stream S is discharged from the secondary nozzle 60. When the latter stream engages the cup-faced forward wall 84 of the deflector 80, the secondary stream is deflected laterally over the stream S as shown in FIG. 3. This lateral deflection of the secondary water stream S produces a reaction force on the impact arm 75 causing the arm to rotate in a direction to oppose the biasing force created by the torsion spring 90.

When the impact arm 75 returns to the position shown in FIG. 4 due to the force of the spring, the momentum of the arm produces an impact at 94 on the body which produces an incremental or step of rotation of the sprinkler head 25 relative to its supporting sleeve 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the impact point 94 lies substantially in a vertical plane extending through the axis 56 of rotation of the head 25 and arm 75 and the centerline of the main nozzle 58. This is desirable for obtaining maximum torque on the head 25 with each impact in addition to providing a body 26 and arm 75 of simplified and economical construction.

When the sprinkler is installed to cover a part circle area, the stop members 40 are circumferentially adjusted relative to the sleeve 30 so that after the nozzles 58 and 60 have advanced in a step-by-step manner through a predetermined arc, one of the stop members 40 will acuate the lever 100. This causes the toggle member 105 to be pivoted from a position where the finger 108 clears the path of the weight portion 78 of the impact arm 75 during forward rotation of the head 25 to a position where the finger 108 provides a stop to the free oscillation of the impact arm causing the arm to impact the toggle member 105 and produce step-by-step rotation of the sprinkler body in the reverse direction. When it is desirable to use the sprinkler for covering a full circular area, the yoke spring 104 extending from the lever portion 102, is flipped to the position shown in FIG. 2 so that the stop members 40 are ineifective and do not actuate the lever 100.

From the drawing and the above description, it can be seen that a sprinkler constructed in accordance with the present invention provides several desirable features and advantages. For example, by locating the secondary nozzle 60 and the deflector 80 above the primary nozzle 58 and laterally offset in the direction of the reaction movement of the arm 75 from the impact point 94, the sprinkler head 25 is provided with a vertically compact construction and the stream S from the secondary nozzle 60 does not interfere with and is not carried further outwardly by the stream S from the primary nozzle. As a result, the water forming the stream S is effectively distributed over the inner portion of the part circle area without significant overspray beyond the radial boundaries defining the area. Furthermore, when the stream S is intercepted by the deflector 80 in returning to its normal position adjacent the upper surface of the nozzle 58, the stream S is deflected laterally in a concentrated form just above the primary stream S at the end of the nozzle 58 and does not require significant additional vertical space between the primary nozzle 58 and the cover 70.

Thus the sprinkler of the present invention provides a multiple or dual nozzle sprinkler which not only provides optimum Water distribution but also provides for directing the 'water stream S from the secondary nozzle without interfering with and without being intercepted by the stream S from the primary nozzle 58 while minimizing the distance which the sprinkler head 25 and cover 70 must pop up from the housing 12 during distribution of water. Furthermore, by employing the sprinkler construction of the present invention, the housing 12 can accommodate a part circle dual nozzle impulse sprinkler as well as a full circle dual nozzle impulse sprinkler according to whichever is required for providing the desired area coverage.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved part circle pop-up impulse sprinkler comprising a housing adapted to be recessed within the ground and defining an open top chamber, a sprinkler head positioned within said chamber and having a body defining an internal water passageway, tubular stem means supporting said head for rotation on a vertical axis, means supporting said stem means to provide for movement of said head between a retracted position and an elevated position in response to a supply of water under pressure within said stem means, a cover member mounted on said head for movement therewith and adapted to seat on said housing when said head is in said retracted position, a primary nozzle and a secondary nozzle mounted on said body and defining corresponding nozzle openings connected with said passageway, said secondary nozzle being positioned above and radially inwardly from said primary nozzle and arranged to produce a stream substantially parallel to the stream from said primary nozzle, said secondary nozzle also being laterally offset from said primary nozzle to prevent the stream from said secondary nozzle from interfering with and being carried radially outwardly by the stream from said primary nozzle, an impact arm including a deflector, pivot means on said body supporting said arm for oscillatory movement from an impact position where said deflector is adjacent said primary nozzle and intercepts the stream from said secondary nozzle to produce a reaction torque on said arm, spring means connecting said arm to said body for opposing said reaction torque and for returning said arm to said impact position to produce step-by-step rotation of said head, and means for reversing the direction of said step-by-step rotation of said head.

2. A sprinkler as defined in claim 1 wherein said deflector is positioned to deflect the stream from said secondary nozzle laterally and directly above the stream from said primary nozzle.

3. A sprinkler as defined in claim 1 wherein said pivot means supporting said arm includes a shaft having an axis aligned with the rotational axis of said head to prevent interference between said deflector and said housing during said oscillating movement of said arm, and said deflector has an elongated configuration with vertically spaced side walls connected by a curved forward end wall to direct the stream from said secondary nozzle in a generally concentrated form over the stream from said secondary nozzle to produce a positive torque on said impact arm.

4. A sprinkler as defined in claim 1 wherein said secondary nozzle is laterally offset from said primary nozzle in the direction of oscillation of said arm from said impact position.

5. A sprinkler as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for reversing the direction of step-by-step rotation of said head comprises a toggle member pivotally mounted on said head and movable to a position for intercepting the reaction movement of said arm, a pair of circumferentially adjustable stop members mounted on said head stem means, a lever pivotally mounted on said head, a first yoke spring mounted for overcenter movement on said lever and connected to actuate said toggle member, and a second yoke spring mounted for overcenter movement on said lever and movable into a path for selectively engaging said stop members.

6. An improved part circle impulse sprinkler comprising a sprinkler head having a body defining an internal water passageway, means supporting said head for rotation on a vertical axis, a primary nozzle and a secondary nozzle mounted on said body and defining corresponding nozzle openings connected with said passageway, said secondary nozzle being positioned above and radially inwardly from said primary nozzle and arranged to produce a stream substantially parallel to the stream from said primary nozzle, said secondary nozzle also being laterally offset from said primary nozzle to prevent the stream from said secondary nozzle from interfering with and being carried outwardly by the stream from said primary nozzle, an impact arm including a deflector, pivot means on said head supporting said arm for oscillatory movement from an impact position adjacent said primary nozzle where said deflector intercepts the stream from said secondary nozzle to produce a reaction torque on said arm, spring means connecting said arm to said head for opposing said reaction torque and for returning said arm to said impact position to produce step-by- 7 8 step rotation of said head, and means for reversing the References Cited direction of said step-by-step rotation of said head. 7. A sprinkler as defined in claim 6 wherein said pivot means supporting said arm includes a shaft havg g C(PICS 32 ing an axis aligned with the rotational axis of said head, 5 2522 16/1362 EL SE i 6 said secondary nozzle is laterally offset from said primary 3O88677 5/1963 y 239 230 nozzle in the diI'fiCiliOIl Of oscillation f a d arm from sa1d impact position, and sa1d arm impacts sa1d body at a point which lies substantially in a plane extending EVERETT KIRBY Pr'mary Examiner through the rotational axis of said head and the center- 10 US, Cl, X,R,

line of said primary nozzle. 239230 

